EA Vancouver is in an unenviable position this year, having to release FIFA 21 just six weeks before the next generation of consoles kicks-off. In a nice touch though, anyone who buys the game on PS4 or Xbox One will automatically be upgraded to the PS5 or Xbox Series X|S version. However, what you now have is the main review cycle putting a microscope under what will almost certainly be the inferior version of the game. We do plan to review the next-gen version at launch, but for now, let’s take a look at the swansong for our beloved systems.

A quick note before we get into the meat of the review. This will be a largely offline mode focused review as it has been in previous years. I prefer to play football games solo and so forcing myself to play Pro Clubs and any more of Ultimate Team than is required wouldn’t be beneficial to this review or my outlook on the game. I represent a vocal minority of players who want the ultimate career mode and gameplay as close to the beautiful game as possible.

GRAPHICS & PERFORMANCE

As you would expect with the final game before next-gen hardware, the graphical improvements are almost non-existent. That’s not to say there is anything wrong with that. FIFA has always looked the part, especially on a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X with a 4K TV. One noticeable change is the colour of the pitch. By default, the more vibrant greens of FIFA 20 have been toned down. However, should you wish to alter that there is now a slider in the pre-match settings.

Performance is rock solid in terms of framerate and as such the game runs incredibly smoothly. This makes for highly responsive online play. Unfortunately, I don’t have the same high praise for the games animation. In previous years I have talked about players sometimes moving and pivoting more like they are on ice skates than wearing football boots. Unfortunately in the games current state this appears to be worse than ever. Thankfully, EA are notoriously good for releasing title updates that slowly but surely iron the severity of these issues.

CAREER MODE

Back when we first started seeing screenshots of career mode I instantly got excited. It appeared from the limited information we had that the UI had been revamped, which would have made the world of difference to me. Unfortunately, that was just the new interactive simulation feature that has been added this year. Outside of that, the entire layout, including the awkward transfer negotiation cutscenes remain untouched.

Speaking of the interactive match simulation, while it isn’t a feature I plan to use much of going forward it, it really is a nice feature. In previous iterations, your only option was to either play a match or sim a result. Now, with interactive match sim, you can watch the gameplay out on a 2D pitch similar to Football Manager, monitoring players match ratings, making tactical adjustments and substitutions. You can even jump in at any point and take control of the game and what’s even more impressive is that this process is almost seamless.

Other improvements include player development, which is very cool. This allows you to change the focus of each player’s day-to-day training as well as putting them on a program to change their primary position. A positional change won’t happen immediately though. The player will have to spend weeks learning the chosen position. But once they do, their OVR can and often does change to reflect how well their individual stats suit the new position. I have had players jump up 4 OVR by switching to a position I felt was more natural for them.

Other improvements to career include a revamped transfer system which adds the loan-to-buy option as well as a few other tweaks. These are positive additions, but the current system does still feel a little stale. Performing training sessions with your players is something that’s a nice idea in theory, but an hour into my time with the game and I was simulating these every time. Match sharpness is a new stat which you have to keep an eye on with your squad too, although I can’t say I saw a noticeable difference in any player once they hit peak sharpness.

GAMEPLAY

I feel a bit like a broken record here, but again not too much has changed here. A number of years ago EA decided to straddle the line between arcade and realistic gameplay with the FIFA series and they have stayed true to that. You can pull off some nice passages of play for sure, but while eFootball PES 2021 has you battling in the midfield for control of the game, FIFA is an end to end goal bonanza.

The gameplay feels smoother and the pace of play has been refined. The worlds fastest players like Mbappe really stand out more with their pace, but unfortunately again that is where the player ID seems to begin and end. Konami has nailed the player trait system, where players aren’t just interchangeable. Sometimes a player with a 77 OVR can fit into your team better than one with an 87 OVR in master league depending on your tactics and squad selection. But again in FIFA a sub coming on just slots in with no impact on the team.

Your AI teammates now make better runs, both automatically and via the new creative runs feature. It takes a bit of getting used to, but you can now switch to a player off the ball (by pressing both L3 and R3 simultaneously) and then make an incisive run and call to receive the ball like how you would in Be A Pro mode, except here it always results in a pass being attempted.

One other gameplay addition that has been very divisive is the agile dribbling. Basically you hold down the L1 button and move with the left analog stick, causing you to jink in and out of defenders at what must be more than 2x the speed of the general play. It’s certainly fun to experiment with and if you aren’t looking to play realistic football it is definitely a goof addition. I was just glad it could be turned off in the settings. These same settings where other forgotten about overpowered “gameplay enhancements” go to die such as timed finishing, which starts off by default as it was roundly criticised.

Lastly, on the gameplay I need to mention the goalkeepers. As things that they are flapping at almost every ariel ball into the box, whether it be a cross or a shot. Routine saves are regularly flying into the net as well. I seem to recall this being an early issue in either 19 or 20 as well though and within a few weeks the problem had been addressed, so expect this to be a non-issue before long.

VOLTA

VOLTA comes with a new story mode called ‘The Debut’. The roughly 3-hour journey does nothing memorable, but I had fun with it. You are taken to a bunch of cool locations around the world and even get an appearance from Brazilian legend Kaká. Squad battles also now extends to VOLTA, which is a welcome addition for fans.

I still find VOLTA a bit of a missed opportunity. I loved FIFA Street back on PS3. It was so over the top that it worked. Here we have the FIFA 21 gameplay, exaggerated slightly, on street pitches. It is fun no doubt, but I can’t help but feel that it isn’t reaching it’s potential. There isn’t really a solution to this though. We can’t expect EA to implement completely unique gameplay for one mode and the street series breaking off into it’s own game again doesn’t make financial sense.

ULTIMATE TEAM

FUT has changed very little this year, which to be honest isn’t much of a surprise. This is FIFA’s meal ticket and the mode that rakes in money all year long. They have to be very careful not to change too much and annoy a loyal fanbase. With that in mind they have removed fitness cards – something that is likely to elicit a cheer from the stands. They have also added a method of editing your stadium with different audio and visual elements. This would have been a great addition to career mode too, but clearly wasn’t a priority.

The largest addition to though is arguably FUT co-op. I have never been one to dabble in co-op, especially not in a sports game. However, there’s no doubt this will be a big feature for many FIFA players. FUT continues to get criticism for its microtransactions, but I continue to have no issue with it. Building a good team can be done without spending money, it just takes time. Something that not enough people are willing to put in these days.

VALUE

FIFA is literally bursting at the seams with modes. There really is something for everyone at this point. Whether you want to play offline, online, casusally, competitively, by yourself, with up to 10 others or even local party games via house rules – EA Sports have you covered. It really comes down to one thing – do you enjoy the gameplay? If the answer to that question is yes, you are sorted for a football game until the inevitable FIFA 22.

VERDICT

Overall, FIFA 21 is not a huge leap forward from last year’s iteration. It does, however, take some strides forward and while not all the new features add to the experience in my opinion (I’m looking at you agile dribbling), these can be turned off in the settings. I do hope we see more gameplay additions in the next-gen version though.

-Craig 🧐

Best Price as of review: £48.99 at Amazon

A review code for this product was kindly provided by the publisher. Reviewed on PS4 Pro.